Aspects of the disclosure generally relate to providing geographical navigational information to mobile devices, and more particularly, to providing updated navigational information.
Many people are more frequently using navigation devices in various situations. For example, as smart phones, tablet computers, and other mobile devices increasingly support navigation functionalities, users of these devices may leverage this technology in a number of different circumstances, from walking around town to driving across the country on a road trip.
In the context of a road trip, there may be some instances in which a group of people may split up into different vehicles, even though they are traveling to the same place. For example, if two families are traveling together from San Francisco to San Diego, each family may drive in its own car to reach the common destination of San Diego. Additionally, the drivers of each vehicle may agree upon a particular route in advance of departing on the trip, so that each vehicle can travel along the same route, stop at the same rest stops and restaurants, and otherwise travel in a coordinated manner.
Despite this planning, however, situations may arise once the trip is underway in which the travelers may wish to deviate from the previously planned route. For example, once the travelers and their vehicles leave their respective points of origin and begin driving towards the common destination (e.g., San Diego in the example above), some travelers may wish to stop at a different rest stop earlier or later than others (e.g., to fill up a vehicle with gasoline, to purchase food for a hungry passenger, etc.). In other instances, the route might need to be changed once the trip is underway because of other external circumstances (e.g., to avoid traffic, to circumvent an unexpected road closure, etc.).
When these situations arise after a trip has started, the people driving the various vehicles might need to communicate manually in order to discuss and agree upon the changes in the route. For example, the drivers might need to call each other (e.g., individually using their cell phones) to keep in touch about new waypoints and different route segments to be taken during the road trip. This can be difficult and inconvenient for the travelers, particularly when some people are traveling alone in a vehicle or more than two vehicles are involved in the trip. For instance, if a person is driving alone in a vehicle, he or she might not be able to safely talk on the phone with other travelers about changes in the route. Additionally, if more than two vehicles are involved in the road trip, it might take multiple calls between various travelers to communicate changes in the route to all of the people involved in the trip.